Survey: Americans Prefer Convenient To "Green"

If you knew that giving up one of your precious electronics would help save the Earth, would you?

Don't lie - a new survey claims fewer than half of Americans would give up their iPods. Specifically, only 42 percent would be willing to, according to the study, conducted by The Shelton Group.

And Apple-haters shouldn't get too smug. iPod owners weren't even close to the worst offenders.

In answer to the question, "If you thought these things were harming the environment, which of the following would you be willing to give up?" merely 6 percent of those polled would have been willing to give up all the devices mentioned:

iPod - 42 percent

Dishwasher - 38 percent

Microwave - 28 percent

Cellular phone - 23 percent

Air conditioning - 16 percent

TV - 14 percent

Computer - 8 percent

Car - 7 percent

None of the above - 24 percent

Interestingly, of the 1,006 people from across the country who were interviewed for the survey, a full 60 percent said they were looking for "greener products." Convenience and comfort still trump environmental concerns, though, as 38 percent put convenience first, 35 chose comfort and 26 percent said Mother Earth came first.

The results were summed up thusly: “Consumers don’t want to give up the modern conveniences of life,” said Suzanne Shelton, whose firm conducted the survey. “We’re all basically saying, ‘I’ll be green as long it doesn’t make me uncomfortable or inconvenienced.’”

Shelton group describes itself on its website as "an advertising agency ... focused exclusively on motivating mainstream consumers to make sustainable choices" and conducts surveys four times a year.

The survey also found that only 7 percent of Americans believed companies went "green" out of true concern for the environment, but 35 percent still use company's own claims to determine if a product is, indeed, green."